Ken Paxton
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that non-union workers cannot be forced to pay fees to public-sector unions:
“It’s been a common refrain of mine for years: compelled political speech through compulsory union dues is incompatible with this nation’s bedrock principles of individual liberty. Accepting a job in the public sector should not require employees to check their First Amendment rights at the door. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling rectifies decades of abuse by public-sector unions, which will now be forced to solicit funding like any other politically active organization. This momentous decision vividly illustrates the importance of textualist judges – and the presidents who appoint them.”
In an April 2017 op-ed, Attorney General Paxton endorsed paycheck protection legislation in the Texas House to “prevent workers from becoming ATMs for pet political causes that they do not support and help get the government out of the dues-collection business.” Government unions in Texas use the state payroll system to collect union dues, then turn around a spend millions of dollars on partisan activities that are opposed by many dues-paying members.